no spark after new points plugs,etc

[Deleted User]

i just replaced my plugs, points, condenser, rotor and distributor cap, and car will not start! i tried to check a plug wire to see if a spark will jump from wire to engine, and no spark. anyone have any suggestions? are the new points bad, or condenser, what should i look for. i know i am getting gas because i have checked the carb. please help, i want to be driving not looking at car in the garage!:(

hudsonguy

I had this happen once, and it turned out to be the little spring loaded plunger inside the distributor cap. It was sticking so that the plunger wouldn't drop down enough to make contact with the flat spring on the rotor. I believe they were all a fresh batch of Kanter parts, as I recall.

Park_W

Pull the wire from the coil out of the center of the distributor and see if you've got spark there. If not, take the dist. cap off, bump the starter to get the points open, turn the key on, and while holding the high voltage wire from the coil next to the block, short across the points with a screwdriver, etc. When you "unshort" the points, you should get a good hot spark from the coil. If you do, the problem is in the "high voltage" area ... distributor cap, rotor, or wires. If you don't get a spark when unshorting the points, check (still with the points open) to be sure there's 6v (or 12v) reaching the distributor from the coil. If not, disconnect the "coil to distributor" wire at the distributor end and see if there's now voltage on that wire. If so, the circuit to the points has gotten shorted to ground somewhere in the distributor. Look at the it carefully and see if the feed wire to the points or to the condenser has gotten against the distributor structure. Sometimes the insulation on that little flexible wire to the points has worn bare, allowing the wire to short against the side of the distributor. If, with the coil-to-distributor wire disconnected, there's not voltage at the "distributor side" terminal of the coil, check the other coil terminal to see if voltage is arriving from the ignition switch. If there's not, figurre out why and fix it (Duh!).

Unknown

I Have Found That Many Sets Of Points Have Been Coated With Clear Cosmoline, Lnot Visible To The Naked Eye, Take Some Carb Cleaner And A Clean Rag And Run Thru The Points, It Worked For Me, Bill Albright

Park_W

Ken and Bill are right ... this is a common source of "points trouble," also caused by getting your grubby hands on the feeler gauge before you use it to check the points, or the leftover oil on the gauge from the last time you set the valve clearance. In my too lengthy discussion above, I should have mentioned that if you get a spark when shorting across the open points but nothing when you turn the engine over, it's likely crud on the points, keeping them from making good contact. Use a non-glossy paper business card or something like that to pull through the points while they're closed, to remove any oil, etc. Then open the points and blow them out to remove any possible paper residue. I suppose an aerosol contact-cleaner solvent, as used on electronic equipment, would do a decent job of removing any oil from the points, too.

[Deleted User]

thanks everyone for your help. i got the car started and runs very good. basically what i did is insulate the small wires in the distributor, clean the points(again!), in fact cleaned all contact areas i could find. i didn't expect this to be such a hard job. i havn't replaced the plugs and points very often(don't drive as much as i would like), but my on my 57 plymouth i replaced the points, etc and cleaned the carb abut every 3-6 months, with no problems. anyway thanks again i now have to replace the brakes, and yes i have all new master and wheel cylinders and new brake springs. no reason to use old stuff because i don't know what the previous owner replaced or what kind of job he did!